Reusing vs. Recycling

We recently came across an interesting article about a study in Denmark that found that major events (e.g. sports and festivals) that implemented a reusable and refillable cup program were more environment-friendly than those that used traditional disposable cups. When it came to environment benefits, the reusable cups only needed to be used five times to outscore disposable cups.

The jist of the program involves consumers paying an upfront refundable deposit for a branded cup and refilling it all day at the event. If the consumer wants to take home the souvenir cup, than they lose their deposit. Otherwise, the cup is returned at the end of the event and washed for the next one. The article goes on to detail the specifics of the study.

While this may sound like a no-brainer - of course an event will be more environment-friendly if less disposable cups are used - many events are not going down this route. Instead they are turning to 100% recyclable cups. However, with recycling comes increased costs (ensuring recycle bins are everywhere and that everything is sorted, collecting the recycled plastic, etc.)
and increased energy to transform the plastic back into usable pellets. Isn't is better to reuse than recycle? Isn't that why "reuse" is before '"recycle" in the 3 R's?

That's why when we speak with music festivals and other large scale events about our Stop Beer Warming initiative, we talk about implementing a refillable and reusable cup program similar to the one in the article as opposed to starting a recyclable one. It just makes more sense.